A car with a solid power-to-weight ratio can be hard to find these days­—all those extra safety features and options add pounds. But if you're willing to forgo the supped-up luxury autos, PM offers a historical solution: so-called "midget" race cars, the speedy precursors to modern go-karts.

"With their motors winding up in high-pitched snarls, half a dozen of the little racing machines give spectators a combination of thrills and excitement," PM wrote in the June 1950 issue. So small were these pint-sized automobiles­—the distance between the axles being no more than 60 in.­—that "the drivers almost need to grease themselves to slide in behind the wheel."

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Utilizing lightweight materials—fuel tanks made from laminated plastic, for example—the miniature roadsters achieved high speeds. "Some of the bantam-weight speedsters can do a good 100 miles per hour on a straight course," PM wrote. The price of making your own, on the other hand, was not exactly relative to the size of the ride. In the 1950s, building a "midget" vehicle could cost as much as $3000, PM reported. Adjusting for inflation, that's about $26,000 today.

But if cost won't deter you from having one of today's tiniest vehicle and you don't want to build your own, check out Jay Leno's column on Brammo Motorsports' Ariel Atom 2 in the March issue of PM. Like older go-karts, the Atom features an extremely high power-to-weight ratio­­—its top speed is more than 200 mph—and boasts much more room for the driver. It's up to you, though, if you want to grease up before hopping in. —Brian Lisi